-
- Curtain Call
-
- Much Ado progam
-
- inside the program
On Friday, February 6, 2009 we went to see our first production here in Bulgaria. This is a photo of the curtain call of Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing or Mnogo Shoum za Nishto at the Bulgarian Army Theatre. The production was directed by Krassimir Spassov with scenography and costumes by Radina Bliznakova. It was in Bulgarian, of course, but since it was an excellent and well-acted production it was mostly possible to follow who was who and what was going on. Having seen Much Ado a number of times and run wardrobe once (at Albany State summer theatre), you would think I would remember every bit but of course I didn’t.
The house was very full and included a number of high school age folks as well as a wide range of others young and old. The production was well received by everyone. Dogberry and his henchmen were real crowd pleasers and a very handsome Benedict seemed to capture hearts as well. As I understand it, this production has been in the repertory for a number of years and this month marks the introduction of a new cast of actors in the roles of the two young couples, Beatrice and Benedict & Hero and Claudio. I do know that on the night we were there, there was quite a bit of excitement during the curtain call, with flowers and champagne, speeches and many, many bows. Was it the opening night of the new cast? We couldn’t tell but the sense of some momentous event was unmistakable.
The theatre itself is a proscenium theatre with two curved balconies and a large orchestra section with well padded red velvet seats. Guessing, I would say it seats 500 or so. We sat in the front row of the orchestra amidst lots of younger people on either side. The scenery was straight forward, a false proscenium of what looked to be white, painted wood with several doors and at least one window above on stage left. There was a low raised platform area covering most of the downstage area, filmy curtains on wires which could be pulled across the stage and a small raised upstage area with some flat, painted and framed areas surrounding. (mostly visible in the photo) Much was painted white and blue with watery or ocean images and clouds prevailing. Several straight backed chairs served in multiple scenes. The costumes were really pleasing to me. Not of any particular period or locale exactly but with a very definite and cohesive design. The palette was mostly a soft off-white with black. There were a number of great pairs of men’s boots and some memorable hats and dusters. One of Dogberry’s cohort captivated me for an entire scene as he became fixated on his own thumb stuck in his jacket button hole. I really couldn’t stop watching him.
Overall a really enjoyable evening in the theatre. Much thanks to Maria Dimanova of NATFIZ who arrange for us to see this show.
Advertisement
